Page 171 - Afrika Must Unite

156 AFRICA MUST UNITE

size of any continent but it is not so fortunate with its natural
harbours. We do have a few excellent artificial ports, and
facilities exist for more. Notable among them are those at
M onrovia and Tema. Older ports include Dakar, Freetown,
Lagos, Dar-es-Salaam, Mombasa, Beira, M atadi, Port H ar­
court, and Alexandria, to name only some. Among ports which
have recently been greatly improved is Conakry in Guinea.
There is need for the building of new ports and the improvement
of old ones.
In the case of inland waterways the problem is also im portant
even though navigable waterways have only limited importance
in most areas. There are exceptions. In West Africa, the River
Niger plays a significant part in the bulk shipment of palm oil,
timber, peanuts, and imported petroleum products. O n the
Senegal river, small ships operate all the year round on the 177
miles from St Louis to Podor; and for a limited time on to Kayes.
It is estimated that there are about 9,000 miles of navigable
rivers in the Congo, and the system is reckoned to be the most
im portant inland waterway of tropical Africa. Rivers like the
Zambesi, Rufiji and Tana, which flow into the Indian Ocean,
are navigable for short stretches. Considerable use, on the other
hand, is made of the Middle Nile in the Sudan. Then there are
the East African lakes. Shipping on Lake Victoria totalled some
215,000 tons in 1956.
Coastal lagoons and tidal creeks must also be taken into
account. A canal in the Ivory Coast allows movement by lagoon
across half the coast, and permits the collection and dispersal of
goods to Abidjan at reduced costs. Porto Novo in Dahomey is
linked by lagoons to Lagos. W hen the Volta river project is com­
pleted, low-cost water transport will be provided from the
artificial lake area to the Northern region. Waterways of all
kinds can be improved or extended if we pool our resources.
Air transport, both for passengers and freight, probably has
the greatest future. M any large international airlines operate
services in Africa, but most of them have planned their routes
to serve the needs of passengers travelling to and from countries
outside Africa. Most of the best routes run from North to South.
Air links between, for example, East and West African countries
are generally poor and few and far between. So far, the demand